Lemony Baked Tofu + How to Press Tofu

You’re going to love this marinated tofu recipe. Plus, learn how to press tofu using things you already have at home. For a simplified version of this entree, check out this easy baked tofu recipe.

I love to start my morning in a cozy robe with a cup of coffee in hand while I flip through the early morning programs, like the Today show or Good Morning America. Their light banter and soft journalism is a nice little entry to the day. My husband and I chat about the stories, with thumbs at the ready to flip channels when one of their meat-heavy cooking segments air.

Every once in a blue moon they’ll cook something vegetarian or vegan, sometimes even involving tofu. Inevitably one of the hosts will squirm over the idea of eating bean curd and say something disparaging about it. I get it. I used to mock tofu too. It’s the food that people love to hate. Sitting in a bath of water on a refrigerated shelf in the grocery store, it doesn’t look immediately appealing. If only people could get past its outward appearance and their own assumptions, they might come to love tofu as I have.

If only tofu had the PR of, say, ladybugs. They’re bugs just like any other bugs, and yet people coo when they see them and delight in them crawling on their arms. They may even break into a song about them. What other bug gets that kind of treatment? You don’t see people singing over cockroaches or centipedes. Unfortunately for tofu, they have the PR of… tofu.

Tofu could be that gawky girl in one of those romantic teen comedies, who is wearing glasses with her hair in pigtails and then after the hot guy falls for her it’s revealed that she’s actually hot too. Why? Because deep down, tofu is pretty exceptional. First of all, it’s super versatile. It can be grilled, baked, roasted, stir-fried… It can be used in desserts, thrown into salads, or make for a delightful morning scramble. It is a blank canvas. It will soak up the flavors of any delicious marinade, from smoky barbecue sauce to a red wine marinade to today’s recipe for Lemony Baked Tofu with Rosemary.

How to press tofu

The secret to spectacular tofu is in the pressing. Water-packed tofu, sold in the refrigerated section, is like a sponge. When using it, you need to drain the package and press out all of that water logged inside of it. After that, it can soak up whatever marinade and flavor profile you desire.

After I empty the water from the package, I like to cut the tofu into slices for quicker and more even pressing. Then I set it on a plate that has been covered in a kitchen towel. Lay the tofu slices evenly across the plate, not overlapping. Cover the slices with another towel, and top them with a hard cover book or another plate.

Then on top of all of that, place something heavy, like a weight or cans of soup. Press the tofu for a half an hour to an hour, and then it’s ready for marinating. (To save time, consider pressing the tofu in the refrigerator overnight, and then in the morning put it in the marinade before work. When you get home, you only have to throw it in the oven to bake.)

This Lemony Baked Tofu with Rosemary has a wonderful, dense texture because of its long baking time, and it’s great for people who prefer their meals to have a centerpiece with a couple of sides. It goes well with barley, risotto, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or asparagus. If you happen to have any left over (and we rarely do), they work well in a salad or sandwich.

I would like to finish today’s post with a little poem:

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet,

Eating bean curd (and no whey),

Along came a spider and sat down beside her,

And said, “Hey, Muffet. Any idea how I could get hooked up with the Ladybug’s PR agent?”

Comments

Cadry,
Picked this up from your FB bulletin. I love how you write. Both the tofu and soda pieces were just superb. So where's the email-to-friend icon? I want to pass it on but don't have an easy click. (or I missed it) Help me out please.

Thanks so much, Joe! That warms my heart! :) On Facebook on the news feed where you saw the link, underneath the link it says: like, comment, share. If you click on the "share" icon, you can pass it on to your friends. I appreciate it!

Hi!
Love this recipe and cannot wait to try it out. Just wanted to say, tho, that I find pressing the water out of tofu by placing it on anything absorbent, like paper towels, and applying pressure, to be counterproductive. And this is why.... it's like squeezing the water out of a sponge... but letting it sit in the dish with the water. As soon as the pressure is released, the "sponge" will suck X amount of the water right back up. The paper towels will hold some of it, but not all.
And so... the way I "de-water" tofu, is to cut the amount needed in one piece (I usually use about a third of a 14 oz package for one meal) and placing it between the palms of my hands, squeeze ~ fairly hard, and for as long as it's dripping ~ over the sink, letting the water escape completely from the tofu. I hold it so a "corner" is toward the bottom, so that the water squeezing out from the top can run down the sides, too. Then just cut into the desired sizes and process.
I know... no one asked for my input... but just thought I'd share. Thanks again for the awesome sounding recipe. Back when I ate meat, I really liked lemony things like piccata.

Hi Cadry,
I am a recent convert to vegetarianism (with eyes to moving vegan) and have been using some of your amazing recipes for starters. Thanks!
So, I am relatively new to tofu. I have been using paper towels to get the moisture out, but I feel like it is very wasteful. I am going to purchase some towels to use, and it looks from the pictures you do the same. Do you find that this creates a lot more laundry? Can you use the same towel more than once if kept clean and dried right after?
Thanks for the tofu pressing help!
Jess

Hi Jess,
Congratulations on transitioning to a plant-based diet! I'm so glad you've been enjoying my recipes. That is great to hear!
You're right about my towels for tofu pressing. I just use a couple of kitchen towels. Since I only make tofu once or twice a week, I don't feel like it adds a lot of bulk to my laundry. I suppose you could rinse and dry them right away, but kitchen towels are pretty small. So it probably would be easy enough to throw in the laundry with any load.
If you want to avoid towels altogether, some people really love freezing tofu. Just throw your package of tofu - still sealed with water and all - into the freezer. Once it's totally frozen, take it out and leave it on the counter to thaw. Once it has completely thawed, you can drain the package and squeeze the tofu like a sponge. The water easily squeezes out. Your already porous tofu will have even bigger holes for soaking up the marinade, and freezing tofu gives it a chewy texture. After that you don't have to press it. You can just put it into your marinade, fry it, bake it, whatever you choose...
Another option, although I haven't tried it, is the Tofu Xpress. It is a contraption built just for pressing tofu, and afterwards you can put your marinade into the box and marinate the tofu in it as well. I don't own one, but I've only heard positive things about it. The only negative is that it runs about $40.
I hope that helps!
Best of tofu luck,
Cadry

That seems to be the chap that is now waving snickerbars all over our uk tv screens. Yuck. What are they doing sending us those? Like they used to send cigarettes to thirdworld countries. Which we are considered by the Pope's team to be these days :-)
Love the tofu recipe and from now on, each time I see the stuff squeezed or baked, I will think "My gosh, you'r'e beautiful, Miss Tofu".
Maybe a rolling pin? like I used to use for Wiener Schnitzel?
Thanks. Marinading sounds good.

Love your website, I searched "is yeast cruel" and found your witty and informative article about the sea monkeys. I was about to give up bread, pizza and everything else. Thank you, I probably would have starved to death. Lol